Scheduling and Whatnot

I’m being demanded to post, but I have no idea what to talk about. I’m pretty on top of things as of late, if I do say so myself. No school tomorrow is nice too. I wanted to go to Six Flags tomorrow since Jake’s floor is going, but I have my math midterm on Wednesday and figured that I should probably make studying for that my priority instead. Lame, I know, but whatever. There will be other chances. I found out early this morning (read: 3am) that I passed out of English Composition 3, which is good, and I have this suspicion that the results from that test have been up there for a while but I just didn’t notice. I’m stupid – it happens, haha. It’s good though. After I took that test, I figured that either one of two things could have happened: I had just written a brilliant essay once again (I’m so humble, I realize) or I had completely bombed that essay and the person who wrote the article they assigned us to analyze and write an essay about was one of the essay readers and would hate me for what I said in my essay. I didn’t even really write on topic, to be honest. I esentially twisted the prompt to make it something that I felt like writing about, not something that the readers had really asked me for. I tend to do that, I realized. I always have to make my essays different, relate them to a bigger picture of something else, take the topic and put it into a completely different context. I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing, but I guess this time at least, it worked.

So yeah. Long story short, I don’t have to take English Composition 3 next quarter and my schedule won’t be all screwed up. Plus, I have a higher guarentee that I’ll get the schedule that I want so it’ll look all nice and pretty. I was thinking about taking four classes next quarter, but nothing really fits with my schedule either. With the lecture times of both my Korean and GE Cluster classes, pretty much no other class is available (other than my 8am Econ 41 class -_-).

아아아~~ 추다. It’s easy to get close fast to people in college. I’m closer to people I’ve known for seven weeks than I am with people I’ve gotten to know over the last four years. It’s kind of nice though. I like that aspect of college. I feel like I should be getting more involved though. Doing more. Joining more. My excuse is that I eventually will, I just need to get my grades up for this quarter… which is kind of true, I know, but a part of me is just damn tired of waiting for myself to get past my excuses and actually start doing stuff. We’ll see how that goes.

Well. I also wrote this entry to procrastinate starting my essay, of which the outline and first two paragraphs are due this Friday. I swear, the work never stops, especially if you take GE Clusters. Thank God I don’t have to take Eng Comp 3 next quarter Maybe I should go work on that essay though… T_T

College Life

Oh yes, I am enjoying college a lot, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not so sure about this whole reading 175 pages in one weekend kind of deal. That’s a bit much, to be honest. But surprisingly, I’m making my way through it all (I’ve got 110 pages under my belt so far). Some of it is actually pretty interesting – I enjoy learning about East Asia. But I guess my main concern is remembering this all, because I know I won’t. I can barely get all these terms straight from page to page, I hate to see myself by the time our final rolls around (because there will be no midterm, thank God). I don’t even really understand what we will be tested on, since the professor said that the book is just a good overview, but the details will come in lecture… but after reading the 100 pages assigned to that last lecture, it seemed more like the lecture was the overview. Seriously, how can 45 min beat 100 pages in details? It just can’t. So maybe it was more of a FYI kind of thing? Orrr maybe I’m just hoping, haha.

I know it sounds geeky but I’m pretty excited for math homework to come on Monday. Yay Calculus! Boo curved classes! Sucksssss to the extreme, especially since we don’t even get to know how we’re doing in relation to the rest of the class until the very end, when it’s too late. And UCLA-ers are so damn smart. And I so desperately need an A/A+ in that class because my major requires a B+ average, and my career path requires like a 3.7 GPA at minimum, or something around there, which is higher than an A- average, isn’t it?

I can see how easy it is to get distracted in college. Already, I have been. But maybe here’s where going to school with smart people who care about their schoolwork actually pays off. When your friends say, “I can’t hang out, I have to go study,” or “Let’s go to the library and read since our teacher didn’t show up for discussion,” it reminds you that you have work to do as well. Thank God for those people because without them, who knows what I would be doing, or what state my studies would be in. I’d be drowning in my 175 pages of material to read.

Get Involved

There are so many things to join here, I’m already losing track. So here’s my list. I’m about to fall asleep…

- Tae Kwon Do Club
- Kendo Club
- ACA (maybe +Hip hop? or +Martial Arts?)
- Nikkei Student Union (+ Modern)
- Job

I’m becoming so picky about jobs now. Like I want a job that will actually mean something and be useful and will add to my resume, like an office job, not just any job. But I can’t be picky, really, since I have no previous experience in anything. Aigoo~ I’m super tired and I have no idea why. Maybe my inability to sleep past 9:30am and my habits of sleeping late is finally affecting me.

A Little of Everything

I’m not sure why I feel like blogging so much as of late, but here I am, once again. I decided to do Friday Five.

1. Are you going to school this fall? If not, what was the most recent year of school you completed? I just completed my senior year of high school, so it’s college for me!
2. If yes, what kind of schooling are you doing (middle school, high school, undergraduate, graduate, etc.)? Undergraduateeee
3. Are you someone who enjoys/enjoyed going back to school? Well. I guess I’m kind of that person who moans all year about how summer needs to come but by the end of summer, I’m about ready to go back to school. Except I don’t know this time. I guess I’m excited cuz it’s college and it’s new, but I’m kind of freaked out too, and I kind of like being really anti-social and avoiding certain people like I am now and just reading all day. I know I can’t/shouldn’t do that in college.
4. Do/did you like back-to-school shopping? Why or why not? Not really. I don’t really like shopping, to be honest. My version of liking shopping is clicking around online and finding something. I don’t like the walking aspect of shopping malls.
5. Are/were you a good student? Good in terms of I do my homework? Because I do. But I didn’t always.

Last week:

How many times a day do you…

1. Brush your teeth? Twice. Once when I wake up, once before I go to sleep.
2. Shower? Once.
3. Check your E-mail? Way too many to count, haha.
4. Check LJ? Never.
5. Eat? 1-3 plus snacks.

I finished the books today. I have read a total of 12 books this summer, that I can remember, which is kind of sad because it’s not that many. Maybe 12.5, since I read half of To Kill A Mockingbird, before I had to give the book back to Stephanie. You know what’s a huge pet grammar peeve of mine though? When people don’t put that comma between the last two items of a list, before the and. Like “I went shopping, eating, and sleeping.”

I don’t know. That was so random. I can’t believe I’m about to eat hot stew in this hot hot 95 degrees weather. Ick. I talked to Kassy today! Made my day Back to the books though – they were okay. Not spectactular.

I have this desire to read a really good story on FictionPress now though. Someone go find me such a story

College Jitters

Two weeks until I leave for college! I’m not sure how I’m feeling about that, actually. Before, after having returned from Orientation I was so pumped up about it all, so excited to meet new people, start my classes, take courses that actually interest me, and try this whole college thing out. See what it’s all about. But as the date approaches I think the reality of it is really just slamming down onto me like an ocean wave at a magnitude much greater, much larger than I had ever anticipated. Like the fact that I won’t actually be coming back “home” until December, after I finish all my finals. I won’t get to see my dogs, or just feel around for things and always expect to find them. Instead I have to buy stuff that I don’t have but need, I have to buy my food, buy my books, buy my movie tickets, etc. etc. I am going to be so broke!!! Which is why I desperately need a job. My uncle said not to work at ASUCLA since they give you a lot of work, but I guess I figure that a girl’s gotta start somewhere. We’ll see how it goes, I don’t know yet. Last year proved that I now suck at interviews. Ack.

Three out of four of my textbooks for classes have arrived, but the last one I’m waiting on and one of the small books that has already arrived I probably, hopefully won’t be needing. It was a total spur of the moment, freak out kind of thing, but I saw an opening and took it. Next thing I knew, I had switched my English Composition class for Korean 1, and had three more classes added to my weekly schedule (discussions, really) and two courses with the same final day. I freaked out, but I think it’ll all work out in the end, haha.

I’ve slipped into this nasty phase, too, recently. Not really nasty, I suppose, but it’s annoying because it’s making me spend money like crazy. I’m in one of my phases where I can only read books; the stories on fictionpress no longer have the ability to keep me interested enough to continue reading, no matter how much I try. I’m basically inhaling books like they’re air or something. It’s a good thing I have Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and asshole Borders employees who won’t give me discounts on more than one book to slow me down in my buying process. I know it’s got to come to an end, but these books are just so damn addicting. Plus, I like curling up in bed and just reading, and reading, and reading. I guess it seems to a lot of people like I spend so much time on the internet, but really that’s only because I read so much on it. Bring me physical books and I’ll only go online maybe a few hours per day. Which is what is happening now.

There’s not really a point to this blog, but I’m not sure there’s ever really any point to any of my blogs. I guess now I’m stuck debating between whether I should have my concentration in Korea or Japan. I decided to take Korean until I can take Japanese, and I’m thinking that will be spring quarter since I’ll probably place into Japanese 3, based on the textbook they use and they pace they move at, but nothing’s ever for certain. I’m still pretty excited for college, despite the whole reality crashing down visual I painted before. I think one of the things I loved about orientation was that although I had been meeting people only to have to say bye forever to them all summer, finally I was meeting people who I could said confidently, “See you in a month!” or whatever to, and it was totally true. Nothing was a final, absolute goodbye, even though it does kind of suck that my college freshman orientation is forever over. But then again, I wouldn’t change anything about it, so it’s okay. I can’t wait to hang out with the people I met though! Go with Michelle and eat Pizookies (TOTALLY craving one of those right now!) and Diddy Riese. Yum. God, get me down there this instant! Haha. I’m excited. I’m also scared shitless though that I’m going to screw this up, which is something I really can’t afford to do. I can’t stress how important it is that I do well in college.

Cheated by France

You know, I tried several times to sit down and write a post about my experiences in France. Everyone keeps asking me how it was, and I never really know what to tell them. France was good, I guess. I feel kind of spoiled, to be honest. I feel kind of spoiled in the sense that it wasn’t really “the time of my life” and I never really had that whole “I still can’t believe this is real” thing going on for me. France wasn’t Japan, and I guess that might have disappointed me or something. It’s weird because I wasn’t disappointed that Japan wasn’t Shanghai too. Maybe I just couldn’t relate to France or something. Maybe it’s because I was itchy for the last half of my trip. Maybe it’s because I didn’t even really interact with any French people.

I don’t know what it is about the trip that makes me so… like this. I feel very ungrateful, but I can’t help the way I feel. France was good. It was fun, like the Bastille Bal and the Fireworks on Monteparnasse. I took tons of pictures (over 2,000) but then I realized that I took even more in Japan (over 3,000). I told myself I wouldn’t and couldn’t compare the two, because you simply can’t, but I guess one of the things that really bugged me about the trip was how much of a tourist I really felt. You would have thought I had felt more like a tourist in Japan than I did in France, seeing as I was actually living with a host family the entire time whereas Japan, that was not the case. However, going to France and researching all those study abroad programs beforehand while writing my essay on studying abroad really made me realize how lucky I was to have found and luckily stumbled upon EIL, choosing them without really doing much research into what exactly their program was about.

For me, France just couldn’t achieve the same magic that Japan did for me. By the last week, I was so itchy, so ready to come home, so wanting to jet off to China or UCLA instead. I came back for a day, then left for Hawaii with the family, and then suddenly it was like France never happened at all. A distant memory, or something of the sort. Nothing special in particular. I actually don’t have much desire to return to Europe at all, let alone France…

I guess I feel kind of cheated. Like I expected France to be so much more but it just wasn’t. It was just expensive, dirty, and itchy. Very itchy. I didn’t even make many great friends – only two I really want to actually try keeping in touch with. I mean, sure, I met people, but it’s just like my experience overall – fun, but not anything really special in particular.

So I guess that’s my ISA France blog. I actually came here with the intent to write about my experience with UC Riverside Bay Area people today, and how by the end of it, all I really wanted was my UCLA Bruins I met at orientation… I don’t think I’ve ever been this spirited about anything, but I really love UCLA.

08/28/08 Edit: I finally finished uploading all of my pictures from France! Although I do have quite a few albums on Facebook, I held off uploading a lot of my pictures, and uploaded them ALL onto Photobucket instead, so if you’re interested in seeing the uncut version of my photos from France, here it is.

Photobucket Album

It’s all organized by place too. Enjoy! Tell me what you think, if you’d like I know that Photobucket doesn’t entertain comments, but I certainly do, and so does my blog! Actually, the last set of my photo prints that I ordered from Shutterfly came today. I’m excited for the first two. And I’m also excited for my school textbooks, haha.

We are the Mighty Bruins

Well see, now I’m officially in love with UCLA. (sans les cours, bien sur)

Pourquoi, you ask?
- I got the classes I wanted in the end (aside from sucky GEs left to choose from and no fiat lux)
- Everyone I met has been great
- I loved my group (:
- The French Placement exam told AP French to kiss my ass. I passed out of French 3 & fulfilled my FL req
- My schedule kind of kicks ass
- Orientation was awesome
- That was the best campus tour I’ve had

U! C! L! A! UCLA FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!

And the List Goes On

In order to ensure my sanity for the next week or so, or maybe just today since I’m feeling extremely stressed, I need to make a to-do list of all the things I have to do. I can’t believe that I’m leaving for France in less than 1 week – so insane. I can never manage to wrap my head around these things. Even once I land there, it still probably won’t really hit me. I have so much to do though. I’m suddenly really stressed, or maybe I’m feeling this way because I only got 5.5 hours of sleep last night and am exhausted. That’s not the mention the many times I’ve stayed up till 4/5 for the past week. Gah. Stupid. I did this prom night too, and was dead tired the next day. Thus, I’m extremely cranky right now. I seriously canNOT interact with anyone for a few hours now, cuz every time I hear my parents talking to me or my brother making some kind of annoying brother noise, I flip out. GAH. GAH. I CAN’T STANDDD THISSS and it’s not even like I can just go back to sleep either cuz I’ve tried and I am so SO… *breathe* Okay. List.

To-do before Paris:
[x] Pack for Paris (06/27)
[/] Buy a birthday gift for Christine (this might not get done)
[ ] Pack desk stuff (yes I’m separating these so I can later feel accomplished)
[x] Sort through shoes (06/22)
[x] Sort through clothes (06/22)
[ ] Pack stuff in bedroom
[ ] Pack remaining clothes
[ ] Pack everything else (you’d be surprised)
[x] Take TKD picture (06/22)
[x] Print TKD picture (06/22)
[ ] Send transcripts from COM
[x] Send stuff for BruinCard (06/22)
[x] Buy games for iPod (06/27)
[x] Download songs for iPod (06/24)
[x] Pack carry on bag (06/27)
[x] Find a notebook for classes (06/25)
[x] Find cell phone charger (08/27)
[x] Buy gift for host family! (06/25)
[x] Take AlcoholEdu class (06/19)
[x] Submit Hepatitis B thing (06/19)
[x] Send HS transcript (06/22)
[x] Buy Victoria’s Secrets goodies (06/25)
[x] Select photos to print for college (08/27)
[x] Print photos for college (08/27)
[x] Buy UCLA Den Pack (07/03)
[x] Pay UCLA Housing Fee (07/07)

To-do before College:
[x] Buy bed stuff (08/27)
[ ] Figure out how to decorate my room
[x] Buy laptop (07/31)
[x] Figure out classes to take (07/07)
[x] Figure out possible extra major (07/07)
[ ] Separate stuff I want to bring
[x] Buy desk lamp (09/01)

There’s probably a ton more to do before I go to college, and probably things I left out for before I go to Paris too, but this is all I can think of for now, and you bet you I’ll be coming back to update this with progress. Maybe I’ll even add in dates when I check things off, just for shits and giggles. Ya know.

Third Degree

I had a lot planned for this blog entry. Actually, I had a lot planned to say about Tae Kwon Do in general over the past week. But now that I’ve actually come here to write it all out, I find myself way too tired to do it. I think I just want to go to sleep. But at the same time, there’s still so much to be said, so I suppose I’ll just settle for part of it.

Today was my third degree test, but I have doubts about how many people remembered… as in, none but my family and those testing. I barely remembered it myself. It just crept up on me so quickly and I guess it never really registered to me until I was actually in there and doing it that wow. I was testing for my third degree. It was a strange feeling – I felt as though I was saying bye, which saddens me a lot. During the speeches, about which everyone whom I tell does not seem to understand, I began to realize how much Tae Kwon Do really has done for me, and probably how much I’ve been taken that all for granted. I began to feel bad about all those times I complained about practice, or said I didn’t want to test for my third degree because it was too much work, or copped out on competing in fear that I wouldn’t win… I began to really despise myself for those moments of me not being confident in myself or motivated enough to do it all anyways.

I don’t know. I guess it’s all just hitting me. Crashing down on me and making me face the reality that this is like the end to everything. Everyone talks about how college is such a great time in your life, how you’re away from home and you meet a bunch of new friends and can actually take classes that pertain to your interests but… what about this perspective? I feel like college is taking everything away from me, stripping me bare. It’s forcing me to leave everything I’ve ever known behind, forcing me to let it all go and say good bye. So no, I’m not really excited to go to college at the moment. I’m actually kind of despising it, because I know that change is inevitable.

I had stuff to say about sparring too, about incentives and all that. It’s not really important though – just random thoughts and me thinking I’m smart for thinking about them. You know, the usual. I’m really tired though. I can’t believe I’m graduating on Thursday, but at the same time, I guess I just feel like I’m kind of fed up with everyone and everything. About damn time – just get me out of here. I don’t know. Maybe it’s the fatigue in me that’s speaking. I can’t believe I’m so tired that I can’t even read this amazing story anymore. That must really be saying something. I’m too tired at the moment to do or feel anything, really. Too damn tired to care, says my twitter status.

Kay, I’m done. I just feel like I’m caring less… and less… and less in this past week, after my like… mental breakdown or whatever the hell it was that I underwent. And I kind of feel like it’s just going to continue. I’m just going to keep retreating and retreating and retreating until before you know, or maybe you won’t notice, but I’m not there to care at all. I don’t really know what I’m saying. Well I kind of do, I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m trying to imply though, what kind of message I’m trying to set forth, or if I want to at all. Mmm whatever. Sleep.

P.S. Love my Tae Kwon Do family♥ I miss us already, and I still have months before I actually go away to college. Though you’ll never read this, to Chantal, Roger, Bob, Chris, Olivia, Zoe, Adrian, Ryan, Perry – we did it! I love you guys for your support. Seriously.

Prom Expense

God, it’s only Wednesday, yet every day of this week has felt like a Friday to me. What a bummer. At least PROM is this weekend, and while I usually am dreading it, and I kind of was last weekend (maybe I shouldn’t publisize this; it might come off as mean, but this is nothing personal I was just shopping and got sick of it. Like god damn it why can’t the perfect cheap shoes just APPEAR? Annoying) I am currently indifferent about it. I don’t really know. That still sounds pretty mean. I can’t help it, though. It’s just in me to dread every single exciting thing right before it happens. I dread jr. prom last year, jr. prom this year, Japan last year, Shanghai in eighth grade, like every fun thing that happens in my life.

But I seriously think there needs to be like an account titled, “Prom Expense” in accounting. Honestly. It is SUCH a rip off, and I can’t believe I’m buying into it, but T_T I keep trying to tell myself that it’s all worth it. And maybe it is. It probably is. But it’s just so EXPENSIVE. So far just THIS year:

Jr. Prom:
Dress – $30
Shoes – $40
Boutonniere – $12
Limo – $40
Dinner – $17
Necklace – $7
Bracelets – $6
Earrings – $5
TOTAL = $157

Sr. Prom:
Dress – $160
Earrings + Clutch (I’m going to return the clutch) – $24
Tickets – $200
Boutonniere – $10
Limo – $64
Dinner – $20
Hair clip – $54 (Please shoot me. I should NOT have gone shopping with Joanne…)
Shoes – $64
TOTAL = $596

Total Spent on Prom Altogether in 2008 = $753

And I might buy shoes. I don’t know yet. I might just use the shoes I bought in Japan. They’re a bit lower though… but at the same time, they would hurt less when I dance, right? (post edited for shoes) I’d say that Britney, Emily, and I did a pretty good job pulling together prom plans in just 2 weeks though, hahaha. So now we have a restaurant, place to take pictures, limo, and potential place to go after, though that last one is still being worked on. I just bought Jin’s boutonniere TODAY… during lunch. Hahaha. But it’s okay, he already knows Ermm but the necklace that I was planning on wearing broke. I was going to wear the one Fumihiro gave me in Japannn but god, it seems like all my necklaces from that trip broke =\ Or… I lost the one from Jo, and my cross one broke. Actually, I wanted to get a new chain for my cross necklace and just wear that.

I like how noone carrreess!! Hahaha. Okay. Well, change of subjects. I bought the sequel of Halfway to the Grave yesterday! Mainly because my 25% off coupon expired yesterday, haha. I also accepted my housing app thing last night, so I’m officially living in a Hendrick Summit triple with a shared bathroom next year! I’m excited (see, it’s still far enough away for me to be excited) I’m kind of in my ehhhh mood about France at the moment. Cuz when I went through it, I finally realized how much I’ll actually be gone during the summer :\ Blah. Don’t know. Mmm AP Econ tests tomorrow. I think I’m okay for Macro but Micro I’m a bit worried about. But then again, 4=5 for UCLA, so yeah. Hopefully I can still get a 5 though Hehe.

I’m goneeeeee. So tired and so hungry! Prom is a really addicting topic to talk about. Like. I can’t stop. So maybe I am excited…